Rotary expansible chamber devices – Working member has planetary or planetating movement – Helical working member – e.g. – scroll
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-26
2003-01-07
Denion, Thomas (Department: 3748)
Rotary expansible chamber devices
Working member has planetary or planetating movement
Helical working member, e.g., scroll
C418S083000, C417S416000, C417S372000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06503069
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scroll-type compressor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor that compresses gases to be supplied to a fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a demand for the electric cars are increasing because of the requirement to save petroleum resources. A fuel cell, the power source to propel an electric car, has a high energy conversion efficiency and its reaction products such as water and carbon dioxide are not noxious and are environment-friendly, therefore, a demand for the application thereof are expected to increase. A scroll-type compressor, which can easily be made compact and light, is appropriate to supply the compressed gases to a fuel cell.
From the standpoint of saving energy, it is preferable that the rise in temperature of the air is restricted so that the work load of a scroll-type compressor is as small as possible. Therefore, in the conventional method, a cooling chamber, which circulates cooling water around a high pressure chamber, is provided, heat is exchanged between the air in the high pressure chamber as well as air during compression and the low temperature cooling water, whereby a rise in air temperature can be suppressed and the work Load of the compressor reduced, as in the scroll-type compressor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No.8-247056.
FIG. 5
is an axial cross-sectional view of a conventional scroll-type compressor. A housing
1
, which is the outer shell of a conventional compressor, comprises a front casing
2
, on the small-diameter side end face of which a recess is formed, an end plate
20
installed on the small-diameter side end face of the front casing
2
, and a rear casing
3
installed on the large-diameter side end of the front casing
2
.
A fixed scroll
21
is formed in the axial direction on the large-diameter side of the front casing
2
. A suction portion
22
is formed on the outer circumferential side of the fixed scroll
21
, and a discharge portion
23
is formed in the center of the inner circumferential side. A disc-shaped discharge valve
24
and a high pressure chamber
25
are formed on a discharge port
20
a
side of the discharge portion
23
.
One end of a crank-shaped drive shaft
30
is arranged on the small-diameter side end of the rear casing
3
, with rotation being possible. A movable plate
32
, with a movable scroll
31
formed in the axial direction, is arranged on the other end of the drive shaft
30
, with rotation being possible.
When the drive shaft
30
rotates and the movable scroll
31
orbits, a space enclosed by the fixed scroll
21
and the movable scroll
31
moves toward the center of the fixed scroll
21
while being compressed, therefore, the air in the space is gradually compressed. The compressed air arrives at the discharge portion
23
, flows into the high pressure chamber
25
through the discharge valve
24
, and is discharged to the outside of the compressor from the discharge port
20
a.
Cooling water flows into a cooling chamber
26
through a cooling water inflow port, which is not shown. The cooling chamber
26
is contiguous to the high pressure chamber
25
and a border surface
2
a,
through which the heat of the compressed air is transmitted. Therefore, heat is transmitted from the high-pressure air in the high pressure chamber and that during compression to the cooling water. The cooling water, to which heat is transmitted and whose temperature is raised, flows out of the compressor through the cooling water outflow port, which is not shown.
In a conventional scroll-type compressor, high-pressure air and air during compression are cooled to make the compression process as near as possible an isothermal compression so that the work load of the compressor is reduced.
On the other hand, a scroll-type compressor needs a drive means such as a separate motor. A scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor, which combines a compressor and a motor together, enables the whole compression system including a motor to be made compact. Because of this, the scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor is in particular appropriate as a compressor to supply gases, to a fuel cell, which is in a restricted space. The scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor also needs to release heat generated by components, such as a rotor, that rotate at high speed in the motor portion. Therefore, in addition to a cooling chamber in the compressor portion, a cooling means such as a fan was conventionally provided in the motor portion.
A conventional scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor, however, has the following problem. As described above, in a conventional scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor, two cooling means are provided separately in the motor portion and in the compressor portion (a cooling chamber), respectively. Therefore, equipment supporting the cooling means, such as a cooling water circuit in the cooling chamber and a power circuit of the fan, are provided separately, resulting in a large installation space requirement.
The present applicant has attained knowledge that the installation space can be reduced by providing cooling chambers in both the compressor portion and the motor portion as cooling means and by sharing the supporting equipment, such as a cooling circuit, for each cooling chamber.
Before this knowledge can be applied to a compressor for a fuel cell, however, the following problem must be solved. When gases are supplied to a fuel cell, they must be humidified to a certain extent. Therefore, a water vapor exchange film, to humidify discharged gases, is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port of the compressor portion. The water vapor exchange film can resist a temperature of around 140° C. Therefore, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the discharged gases to below this temperature by means of a cooling chamber in the compressor portion. On the other hand, the motor portion can resist a temperature of around 170° C. Therefore, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the motor portion to below this temperature by means of the cooling chamber in the motor portion.
When the cooling circuit is shared, however, the cooling efficiency is better in the cooling chamber to which the cooling fluid is supplied first, of the two cooling chambers, because the temperature of the cooling fluid is low. As a result, the cooling efficiency is worse in the cooling chamber to which the cooling fluid is supplied secondly.
After the above-mentioned knowledge and the application of this knowledge to a scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor for a fuel cell had been researched attentively by the present applicant, it was determined that the temperature of the water vapor exchange film and the motor portion can be lowered to below the resistance temperatures by providing each of the motor portion and the compressor portion with a cooling chamber as a cooling means, respectively, by arranging a single cooling circuit, as supporting equipment, to connect these cooling chambers and to supply the cooling fluid, and by making the cooling fluid flow in the cooling circuit in the direction from the cooling chamber of the compressor portion to that of the motor portion.
The scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor of the present invention has been completed based on the above-mentioned knowledge, and the object is to provide a compressor that requires a reduced installation space, decreases the work load of the compressor, and can resist the required temperature in operation.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the scroll-type compressor with an integrated motor of the present invention comprises a housing, a fixed scroll fixed to the housing, a movable scroll, which is installed eccentrically to the fixed scroll in the housing and orbits with respect to the fixed scroll, and a motor portion, which is installed in the housing and drives the movable scroll;
Hoshino Tatsuyuki
Katoh Hirohisa
Kawaguchi Ryuta
Kawamura Koji
Kubo Hidehito
Denion Thomas
Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
Trieu Theresa
Woodcock & Washburn LLP
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